200 Years old.

[Ddwineguy]

UPDATE: 200-year-old fish is actually just middle-aged
If the 200-year-old fish was a lie, what can we truly believe in anymore?

By RUBIE EDMONDSON – July 9, 2013 at 2:02pm EDT
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Last week, we told you about a very strange-looking fish that was estimated to be nearly 200 years old. The lucky catch, a shortraker rockfish, was reeled in by Henry Liebman during an Alaskan fishing trip with charter company Angling Unlimited. After posing for some photos, the rockfish was sent to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to be officially aged.

Remember this friendly fish?


Henry Liebman poses with his rockfish. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)
As it turns out, the fish isn’t 200 years old at all. It’s not even close. According to Angling Unlimited, Liebman’s catch clocked in at a sprightly 64 years old.

While the fish’s purported age caused great excitement upon its discovery, the age had not been officially confirmed until now. And in fact, one marine biologist had a sinking feeling from the beginning. From Angling Unlimited:

“It’s impossible to age a rockfish once it has matured just by looking at it,” said Kristen Green, groundfish project leader for the Southeast Region of Alaska. “The [ear bones] are the only way to accurately determine its age.”

The oldest aged rockfish, a rougheye, was 205 years old and measured 32 inches. Liebman’s fish measured 41 inches, which encouraged unsubstantiated claims of a 200 year old fish. Green was hesitant to jump on the 200 year old bandwagon because of her knowledge of rockfish biology.

So while it wasn’t completely unreasonable to tout Liebman’s fish as possibly having lived through the Civil War, it was a bit of a long shot. The fish was actually born in 1949 — just after the end of World War II.

This is disappointing news, but it’s not a total wash. The fish is still a record-breaker: Its weight of 39.08 pounds smashed the previous benchmark of 38.68 pounds


Those that called bs on this board were right.

[GR6RR]

Thanks for updating the thread with truthful information.

[lamb]

...U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1967

Doh... They don't even seem to have their history facts in check, no wonder they messed up the age....

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Ddwineguy

Those that called bs on this board were right.

Thanks!!!

My friend Robin posted the story about this catch of "The 200 year old fish" on my facebook page.

Here's what I said at the time:

"......Rockfish or West Coast Red Snapper type fishes are extremely long lived, but not that long lived. Life expediency is estimated as a maximum of possibly a 100 years. In 2007 a fishermen caught one that weighed 62 pounds and was measured at 112 centimeters. It was a third larger then the fish above and it was estimated to be around a hundred years old. If I had to guess I'd say that fish was between sixty to seventy years old...."

Well I was right and they were wrong.

I'm all for Environmental protection, and proper management, but I really hate it when people intentionally use misinformation to manipulate the public.

We don't even have those particular rockfish here and I knew how old it was. It's their job to manage those fish. They are saying it was just an honest mistake, but if I knew how old it was the Alaska management personal who put out the false information should of as well.